Leveling Concrete in a Caledonia Home

Tuesday, February 19th, 2019 by Amanda Waldmann

Challenge

It’s easy to forget about concrete problems around your home. In the era of attached garages, where you drive into your garage and go right into your home, how often do you really walk on your sidewalks and driveway, anyway? And we’re in Michigan - that concrete is hidden by snow for almost half the year.

But there comes a point for everyone when the nuisances, the little annoyances that are easy to brush off individually but that accumulate over time - become impossible to ignore. For Rolland, that point came last summer.

There were multiple problem points in the concrete that we were asked to evaluate. First, the walkway from the driveway to the house was sinking. Second, two slabs in the driveway had cracked to form a V shape, which was creating a river in the driveway every time it rained. In colder months, the broken driveway slabs were all but impossible to shovel, and Rolland didn’t want to spend another winter getting his shovel stuck in the uneven surface.

Solution

Believe it or not, there are reasons to keep your concrete level and in good shape other than convenience and annoyance. First off, sinking slabs create trip hazards and safety issues - ever hit an unexpected slab edge on a bike? Secondly, when slabs sink, they can actually start diverting water toward the foundation of your home, which can cause flooding in your basement.

We used PolyLevel to raise and stabilize the sinking slabs in the sidewalk and driveway. PolyLevel is a two part foam that is lighter than standard fill material and cures much quicker. It’s also waterproof, which means it won’t wash away like the soil that was previously in place, guaranteeing a lasting solution.

By creating a level surface, PolyLevel eliminates trip hazards and restores the natural grade of the concrete, allowing water to be diverted away from the home. To compound the effect, we used NexusPro joint sealant to seal the gaps between slabs. Like PolyLevel, NexusPro cures much faster than traditional urethane-based sealants. It’s also UV resistant, which prevents it from drying or cracking.

With a concrete upgrade courtesy of PolyLevel and NexusPro, Rolland’s sidewalk and driveway are safe and level, and the results will last.

Everywhere you see dirt is a sunken slab. When it rained, water would flow across the driveway like a river, leaving mud that dried into the dirt piles seen here.

A close up of one of the broken slabs.

One of the easiest ways to see if a sidewalk is sinking is to check the porch steps. See the gap between the sidewalk and step? That isn't supposed to be there.